At the age of three, my father Al Hajj Mubdi Mutakabir introduced me to African drum and dance music. My first performance was with the Calabash Dance Theater in 1981 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (B.A.M.).In 1985 I joined Djoule African, a drum and dance company. We performed at the Apollo Theater in Brooklyn, New York winning first place at the first days performance and second place on the following day.
Djoule African traveled from state to state with performances in Baltimore, Connecticut, New Jersey, and all over the five boroughs of New York. We performed at various events, such as weddings, birthday parties, and Kwanza celebrations.
My passion for music grew stronger the more I performed. My father, Al Hajj Mubdi, introduced me to one of his good friends, Sekou who also shared a deep passion for African music. At that time he also resided in Brooklyn. Sekou taught me how to make two African drums from scratch that are from Guinea West Africa. One is called a Djimbe and the other is called Doun Doun.
In 1987, I used my new skills and went into business for myself in order to make a financial contribution to my family. At the age of ten, I was using my new skills to make, sell, and repair African drums.
Our family relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in 1990. There I assisted my father in building a cultural center named Djoule African House of Celebrations. At the center, I taught drum classes and also formed a group named Djoule African Jr. Drummers.
After two years in Atlanta, in 1992 I returned back to New York. Sometime later in Brooklyn, I began performing with an African drum and dance group named Ayoluwa African Dance Theater Inc. Our performances included block parties, The June Balloon Festival at the Brooklyn Childrens Museum, The Adelco Black Arts Festival for Mayor David Dinkins, African Street Festival at Boys and Girls High, Stony Brook University,Medger Evans College, The Poconos, and the Crown Heights Youth Collective. We also won first place at a performance at the Apollo and were featured on a New York News 1 telecast from HRA at Tompkins Square Park.
In 1995, I came back to Atlanta. There I began drumming with Africa Sogaye (which means Sun of Africa) Guinea West African Dance Theater Inc.Our performances in Atlanta included The Apex Museum for young audiences of Georgia, The Auburn Street Festival, The Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park, A commercial for Coca Cola, The West End Performing Arts Center, and Underground Atlanta, The Georgia World Congress Center, and The CNN Center. We also appeared as guest artist with The Dancers Warehouse.
College performances included Moorehouse, Spelman, Agnes Scott, and Georgia Tech and university performances were at Clark Atlanta, and Georgia State.
Outside of Atlanta we performed as guest artist for Djoliba Don and at The 3 Rivers Music Festival in Columbia, South Carolina, The Ingunoko Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at the Harriet Tubman Museum in Macon Georgia.
In 1996 I began to feel that it was time for a change. I needed to do something different. I began writing and producing Hip-Hop music. And formed a Hip-Hop group called The Sahabahs. Our first album, Da Sunna Da Betta is in the final stages of completion.
The Sahabah have had performances in Atlanta at the Malcolm X and The African Street Festivals. They have also performed in a talent show at the College Park Auditorium presented by Priority Records, and have opened up for Hip-Hop artist KRS-1 of Boogie Down Productions at the African House of Performances (A-HOP), and the Hip-Hop group Dead Prize also at the A-HOP and Club Casino In Atlanta Georgia.
My purpose is to brings a new style of music to Hip-Hop by incorporating African drum, Arabian beats, Reggae, and Jazz into my creations.
Eye decided to go beyond my interest in music and to pursue acting. In 2002 eye was featured as an extra in an independent film directed by Yves called Choose.
Hakim can be contacted at: [email protected]